Ask experts (to get confirmation from independent people with knowledge).

The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), launched in 2015, supports international collaborative efforts in fact-checking, provides training and has published a code of principles. In 2017 it introduced an application and vetting process for journalistic organisations. One of IFCN’s verified signatories, the independent, not-for-profit media journal The Conversation, created a short animation explaining its fact checking process, which involves “extra checks and balances, including blind peer review by a second academic expert, additional scrutiny and editorial oversight”.

Beginning in the 2017 school year, children in Taiwan study a new curriculum designed to teach critical reading of propaganda and the evaluation of sources. Called “media literacy”, the course provides training in journalism in the new information society.

The above information[1] is official instructions wrote on Wiki in order to help people identify fake news. These instructions are necessary, but they become complicated and are “impossible mission” to most people.

Why?

While news (both fake and real ones) is read by all people, not many people can follow the above instructions, or even most people don’t (want to) do that. Specially, a lot of people just focus on reading news stories’ headlines and take actions hurriedly!

Even experts also can’t identify whether it’s fake or real news if they don’t have enough information and actual proofs!

Impatience, carelessness, and especially laziness of people (users) in reading and verifying news are really big obstacles that make the fake news war get worse and more difficult.

What’s more?

Social media (such as Facebook, Youtube, Google+, Twitter, etc…) is helping news spread faster than ever. The internet, the ocean of information, is now a huge mess of real and fake news. People, especially younger ones migrating online to read, listen to and watch the news[2], still can’t clearly distinguish them from each other.

Therefore, it becomes complicated and is an “impossible mission” to most people when trying to distinguish between fake news and real ones.

The fake news problem gets worse when a lot of people just want to believe in what they want to believe and they skip verifying information before their real actions.

People still don’t forget The 2017 Jharkhand mob lynchings taking place in May 2017, “mobs in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand beat seven people to death in two separate incidents that horrified the country”[3]. Seven people “lynched in two incidents in less than 24 hours over whatsapp rumours”[4].

{The trigger was a WhatsApp message that had gone viral, urging people to be careful of strangers as they most likely belonged to a “child lifting gang”. As the message passed on, police say hysteria increased. Villagers armed themselves and began attacking anyone they did not recognise, with tragic results.}[5] reported BBC.

An explanation?

{“Reach has exploded, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and cheap data packages. Rumours spread further and faster,” Pratik Sinha, the founder of Altnews.in told the BBC.

“Suddenly people from rural areas in particular are inundated with information and are unable to distinguish what is real from what is not. They tend to believe whatever is sent to them.”}[6]

BBC informed “most of India’s fake news spreads via WhatsApp and mobile phone messages, because for a majority of Indians, their first point of exposure to the internet is via their phone.”[7]

So, the main matter is: How can we deal with the fake news problem and avoid serious consequences caused by misinformation, fake news?

The Miracle: How To Part The Ocean of Information?

If you are a member of Government (especially one of US Government) or you are CEO or an executive of Facebook/Google/Twitter, figure out my exclusive solution for the fake news problem now! You can contact me here

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“God’s 7 Beauty Commandments” and “Parting The Ocean of Information” by Khuong Dat Long: staggering beauty definition & solutions to solve serious problems of outer, inner beauty and institutional-structural discrimination, especially racist jokes, acts as well as hate speech. With special solutions, fake news, disinformation and the motive of 2017 Las Vegas shooting will be solved to the every roots and You will reach The Highest Peak of Human Beauty.